In brief
Houthis launched missile and drone strikes on several Yemeni government camps in Marib and Hadramawt, reportedly killing more than 30 troops. The attacks were justified by the Houthis as retaliation against Saudi-backed military buildup in camps they view as hostile. Yemeni Health Minister and the US mission to Yemen condemned the strikes as treacherous and terroristic, while no immediate response came from the Saudi coalition. This surge follows renewed tension after a maritime embargo and skirmishes in the Red Sea, raising fears of a broader civil conflict. The long‑running war now threatens over 22 million people, with millions in need of humanitarian aid.
Sources say a series of missiles and drones hit several Emergency Forces camps in the al‑Ruwaik area of Marib province and the al‑Abr area of Hadramawt, killing at least 30 Yemeni government troops.
Yemeni Health Minister Qasim Bahibah called the strike treacherous and linked it to a deliberate destabilising of security. The US mission to Yemen described the attacks as cowardly and a broader act of terror against Yemeni people.
The Houthis, who control much of northwest Yemen and have Iranian ties, said they targeted what they described as large Saudi tensions entrenched near the camps. The Saudi‑led coalition has supported the Yemeni government since the war began in 2015.
No comment was received from the coalition or the Saudi government in the immediate aftermath. The conflict’s return to active intensity follows a 2022 informal truce that had largely halted hostilities.
The 2014 outbreak of war, when the Houthis seized Sana, escalated in 2015 with a coalition of Arab states intervening to restore government control. Today, the fight has claimed over 150,000 lives and produced one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with more than 22 million in need of aid, according to the United Nations.
In recent weeks, the Houthis have declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia and launched missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities, and tankers in the Red Sea. They blame these actions on a coalition blockade of ports and airports in their territories and a suspected Saudi air strike on Sana airport.
